Canadian police certificate

[shirley2011 0]

Hi,

I am in Great Toronto Area. I am still early in my K1 process but I want to get a heads up about the police certificate that will be required in the interview time.

I have seen the Canada section on this link saying there are two kind of certificates - one with fingerprints and one without:

http://www.***removed***/immigration/police-certificates.html

It also says the one WITHOUT fingerprints is the one to get.

However, the following link only talks about the fingerprinted one:

http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cr-cj/fing-empr2-eng.htm#Application

What are you guys experience on this? How long did it take you? Did you submit the fingerprints?

Thanks,

Shirley

[canadian_wife 1,822]

I went to the station at Yonge and College and got the simple name check. It took about 10 business days to get back to me. It was really easy. Unless you have a criminal background, you only need the simple background check. As long as the background check is CPIC or a search of the national repository then you're good

good luck

[jldallaire 0]

I was wondering the same thing. Thank you for the clarification.

[CBM 14]

I would check out how long it will take to get one from the RCMP in the GTA. I know a few friends I go to school with waited months to get theirs back. Just a heads up

[iampatricias 17]

I went to my local police station and got a Canada-wide clearance certificate. Like previous posters mentioned, unless you have a criminal history, you don't need the fingerprint version. Over in the Canada regional forum there are, however, several threads that suggest wait times vary hugely depending on where you request the background check. Some say go with the RCMP, while in some areas, that's not even an option.

My police check took 6 weeks, the date on it was the first week in November (I needed it for work), and it was accepted at my interview in April. If you get it now, at least it's one less thing you have to worry about.

[Kimbear 53]

As long as you do not have any criminal issues a normal police check at any opp office should suffice. otherwise you need an RCMP fingerprint one done. also keep in mind the certificate is only good for a certain amount of time. mine was done in Windsor with a validity date of 90 days. so i only got it two months before my interview. mine took like 3 days lol i can't remember ho much it cost but i think it was like 40 or 35..something like that.

Edited April 19, 2011 by Kimbear

[shirley2011 0]

Thank you all for the replies. I will just go to the local police station.

[iampatricias 17]

It's my understanding that the validity period of the police check is not necessarily relevant, as long as the date that it was issued was less than one year before your interview (as far as the consulate is concerned).

[ecce 20]

I went to the station at Yonge and College and got the simple name check. It took about 10 business days to get back to me. It was really easy. Unless you have a criminal background, you only need the simple background check. As long as the background check is CPIC or a search of the national repository then you're good

good luck

We did it this way too. It took 2-3 weeks if I remember.

[lovetimhortons 1]

You can just go to a local police station to get your police record checked. No fingerprints needed (as long as you don't have a criminal record). You will need ID (I took my passport and driver's license), and to take a way to pay (I believe it cost me $50 or so for a police check + extra copy). There are a couple police stations in the GTA where you can get same-day police checks (you may have to wait a few minutes if there are a lot of people there). Call around and ask, or do a google search to find the one closest to you.